Fuel Focus, 2015 Annual Review

Table of Contents

• Highlights
• Retail Gasoline Overview
• Wholesale Gasoline Prices
• Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins
• Crude Oil Overview
• Supplement: Taxes on Gasoline and Other Fuels
• Download the report

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The Fuel Focus 2015 Annual Review summarizes the events that characterized the Canadian retail gasoline market during 2015. Throughout the year, the bi-weekly Fuel Focus report provides readers with regular information on the various aspects of Canadian gasoline markets and the economic drivers influencing prices.

Highlights

• The average Canadian retail gasoline price for 2015 fell by 15% or just over 19 cents per litre compared to 2014. Canadian retail prices averaged $1.09 per litre in 2015. The lowest average prices occurred early in the year, when they reached a low of 91.3 cents in January. Average gasoline retail prices reached a peak of $1.24 during the summer driving season. 

• The average Canadian retail gasoline price in 2015 was the lowest it has been since 2010, when it was $1.04. The annual average retail pump price in 2011 was $1.24 and $1.28 from 2012 to 2014.

• Canadian retail diesel prices were down by 23% or almost 25 cents per litre compared to 2014. Overall, diesel retail prices averaged $1.09 per litre. Furnace oil prices were down by 19% or 20 cents per litre. Furnace oil prices averaged $1.05 per litre in 2015.

• The Fuel Focus also tracks wholesale prices for Canadian and five U.S. cities. These prices are compared in Canadian cents per litre. Based on the Canadian cities we track, wholesale prices averaged 61.2 cents per litre, down 24% or 19 cents per litre compared to 2014. In the U.S. cities, wholesale prices averaged 58.5 cents per litre, down 26% or 21 cents per litre compared to 2014.

• The Canadian exchange rate changed significantly over the course of 2015 as the Canadian dollar weakened compared to the U.S. dollar.  The Canadian dollar depreciated by 12% from an average of 82.5 U.S. cents in January, to an average of 73 U.S. cents per litre in December. The depreciating Canadian dollar means that the decline in crude oil prices expressed in Canadian dollars is less than in U.S. dollars.

• The Fuel Focus also tracks four crude oil benchmarks. These include Canadian Light Sweet, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent and Western Canada Select (WCS). On average for 2015, Canadian Light Sweet prices were down by 47% in USD per barrel terms and 39% in CAD per m³, averaging U.S. $45.05 / barrel (CAD $362.33 /m³) in 2015.
  • WTI prices were down by similar amounts, 48% in USD per barrel terms and 39% in CAD per m³ terms, averaging U.S. $48.68 per barrel (CAD $254.07 / m³). 
  • Brent prices were down by 46% in USD per barrel terms, and 38% in CAD per m³ terms, averaging U.S. $53.60 per barrel, and CAD $431.16 /m³.
  • Finally, WCS was down 52% in USD per barrel terms, and 45% in CAD per m³, averaging $35.64 U.S. per barrel and CAD $230.37 / m³.

Figure 1: Crude Oil and Regular Gasoline Price Comparison
(National Average)

Text version

Figure 1

The graph shows prices in cents per litre for gasoline at retail, gasoline excluding taxes, and Edmonton Par and Brent crude oil prices. Gasoline prices ended the period of December 29, 2015, at 102.1 cents per litre, excluding taxes at 64.3 cents per litre, Canadian Light Sweet at 28.4 cents per litre and Brent at 32.3 cents per litre.

Dates	Gasoline at retail	Excluding Taxes	Canadian Light Sweet	Brent crude
07/01/2014	125.0	85.6	60.6	73.0
14/01/2014	125.6	86.2	54.6	72.6
21/01/2014	125.7	86.3	52.8	73.2
28/01/2014	126.6	87.0	55.1	74.9
04/02/2014	125.9	86.7	59.0	75.1
11/02/2014	127.6	88.2	57.0	74.4
18/02/2014	129.3	89.8	68.5	75.3
25/02/2014	130.7	91.0	69.7	75.4
04/03/2014	132.5	92.7	71.5	75.4
11/03/2014	131.8	92.1	70.3	75.9
18/03/2014	132.0	92.3	64.3	75.4
25/03/2014	132.9	93.2	63.4	74.7
01/04/2014	132.9	93.2	64.4	75.2
08/04/2014	133.9	94.1	65.1	73.7
15/04/2014	136.8	96.7	64.2	73.8
22/04/2014	137.7	97.4	65.5	75.7
29/04/2014	139.8	99.4	65.0	76.1
06/05/2014	136.9	96.8	64.2	74.8
13/05/2014	135.7	95.8	64.2	73.9
20/05/2014	136.0	95.9	65.2	75.0
27/05/2014	136.8	96.6	66.2	75.5
03/06/2014	137.4	97.2	70.3	75.0
10/06/2014	138.1	97.9	65.5	74.7
17/06/2014	138.8	98.5	67.1	76.0
24/06/2014	141.2	100.7	67.3	77.8
01/07/2014	138.7	98.4	66.5	76.7
08/07/2014	137.2	97.0	65.2	74.9
15/07/2014	133.8	93.9	62.9	72.9
22/07/2014	133.0	93.2	62.7	72.4
29/07/2014	131.8	92.1	63.0	72.9
05/08/2014	131.1	91.5	63.7	72.9
2014-08-12	133.6	93.8	61.0	72.3
2014-08-19	131.3	91.7	61.1	71.1
26/08/2014	132.1	92.5	59.8	70.2
02/09/2014	132.8	93.0	60.6	70.4
09/09/2014	133.0	93.3	61.2	69.5
16/09/2014	129.9	90.4	60.5	68.2
23/09/2014	129.4	90.0	61.1	68.0
30/09/2014	130.1	90.6	60.6	67.6
07/10/2014	128.0	88.8	60.8	66.4
14/10/2014	123.1	84.4	58.0	64.2
21/10/2014	121.9	83.2	54.8	60.5
28/10/2014	118.8	80.3	53.1	60.8
04/11/2014	117.8	79.5	51.7	60.8
11/11/2014	119.2	80.7	49.0	59.6
18/11/2014	116.2	78.1	47.5	57.2
25/11/2014	114.4	76.4	47.0	56.2
02/12/2014	112.3	74.4	45.9	54.3
09/12/2014	107.2	69.9	42.9	50.3
16/12/2014	101.1	64.4	41.4	49.7
23/12/2014	99.4	62.8	35.6	44.3
30/12/2014	98.1	61.6	35.7	44.2
06/01/2015	95.0	58.8	33.8	42.0
13/01/2015	91.5	55.7	30.5	38.1
20/01/2015	91.3	55.4	29.8	35.8
27/01/2015	92.5	56.5	30.3	37.6
03/02/2015	96.5	60.2	30.7	39.1
10/02/2015	101.2	64.5	34.7	44.2
17/02/2015	103.0	66.2	35.0	45.3
24/02/2015	103.7	66.8	35.7	47.7
03/03/2015	112.3	74.1	35.1	44.6
10/03/2015	108.6	70.6	35.4	47.4
17/03/2015	105.8	68.0	33.8	45.4
2015-03-24	107.3	69.5	31.6	43.7
2015-03-31	107.1	69.3	34.9	44.6
2015-04-07	108.1	70.2	35.6	44.2
2015-04-14	107.6	69.1	38.1	45.3
2015-04-21	109.7	71.0	40.5	46.8
2015-04-28	111.4	72.5	40.7	48.9
2015-05-05	114.5	75.3	41.8	49.9
2015-05-12	113.0	74.0	44.3	50.5
2015-05-19	113.6	74.6	44.5	50.1
2015-05-26	117.4	78.0	44.5	50.2
2015-06-02	119.0	79.4	44.6	49.8
2015-06-09	118.2	78.7	46.3	50.1
2015-06-16	123.6	83.7	46.0	50.0
2015-06-23	122.1	82.3	45.9	49.2
2015-06-30	120.6	80.9	44.4	49.4
2015-07-07	122.1	82.2	42.6	49.0
2015-07-14	123.5	83.5	38.1	46.0
2015-07-21	122.2	82.3	39.1	46.8
2015-07-28	118.4	79.0	36.5	45.8
2015-08-04	117.6	78.2	34.6	43.4
2015-08-11	114.5	75.5	32.5	40.8
2015-08-18	118.8	79.5	30.3	40.7
2015-08-25	114.1	75.3	28.8	39.0
2015-09-01	110.6	72.0	29.0	37.8
2015-09-08	108.9	70.4	35.6	42.5
2015-09-15	107.1	68.7	35.1	40.4
2015-09-22	106.1	67.9	35.2	39.3
2015-09-29	106.8	68.6	35.5	40.6
2015-10-06	105.7	67.6	35.2	40.2
2015-10-13	106.7	68.5	36.9	42.3
2015-10-20	104.6	66.7	37.8	40.0
2015-10-27	104.1	66.1	34.8	39.7
2015-11-03	107.2	68.9	35.4	40.1
2015-11-10	109.4	70.9	36.1	40.3
2015-11-17	104.8	66.7	33.6	38.1
2015-11-24	103.6	65.6	32.1	37.1
2015-12-01	104.7	66.5	31.9	38.1
2015-12-08	100.7	62.9	31.2	36.7
2015-12-15	101.3	63.5	28.3	34.0
2015-12-22	102.7	64.9	27.7	32.6
2015-12-29	102.1	64.3	28.4	32.3

Figure 2: Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices

Text version

Figure 2

This graph shows the gasoline price trends from 2013 to 2015.

2013 Gasoline at Retail		2014 Gasoline at Retail		2015 Gasoline at Retail
13-01-01	118.90	14-01-07	125.00	15-01-06	95.00
13-01-08	120.60	14-01-14	125.60	15-01-13	91.50
13-01-15	118.90	14-01-21	125.70	15-01-20	91.30
13-01-22	119.70	14-01-28	126.60	15-01-27	92.50
13-01-29	123.30	14-02-04	125.90	15-02-03	96.50
13-02-05	129.20	14-02-11	127.60	15-02-10	101.20
13-02-12	127.70	14-02-18	129.30	15-02-17	103.00
13-02-19	130.50	14-02-25	130.70	15-02-24	103.70
13-02-26	131.20	14-03-04	132.50	15-03-03	112.30
13-03-05	131.20	14-03-11	131.80	15-03-10	108.60
13-03-12	129.90	14-03-18	132.00	15-03-17	105.80
13-03-19	130.10	14-03-25	132.90	15-03-24	107.30
13-03-26	129.40	14-04-01	132.90	15-03-31	107.10
13-04-02	128.70	14-04-08	133.90	15-04-07	108.10
13-04-09	126.50	14-04-15	136.80	15-04-14	107.60
13-04-16	125.00	14-04-22	137.70	15-04-21	109.70
13-04-23	125.10	14-04-29	139.80	15-04-28	111.40
13-04-30	126.30	14-05-06	136.90	15-05-05	114.50
13-05-07	126.00	14-05-13	135.70	15-05-12	113.00
13-05-14	129.30	14-05-20	136.00	15-05-19	113.60
13-05-21	131.40	14-05-27	136.80	15-05-26	117.40
13-05-28	132.90	14-06-03	137.40	15-06-02	119.00
13-06-04	131.10	14-06-10	138.10	15-06-09	118.20
13-06-11	132.90	14-06-17	138.80	15-06-16	123.60
13-06-18	133.10	14-06-24	141.20	15-06-23	122.10
13-06-25	130.50	14-07-01	138.70	15-06-30	120.60
13-07-02	128.30	14-07-08	137.20	15-07-07	122.10
13-07-09	132.40	14-07-15	133.80	15-07-14	123.50
13-07-16	134.40	14-07-22	133.00	15-07-21	122.20
13-07-23	134.70	14-07-29	131.80	15-07-28	118.40
13-07-30	132.70	14-08-05	131.10	15-08-04	117.60
13-08-06	131.50	14-08-12	133.60	15-08-11	114.50
13-08-13	130.00	14-08-19	131.30	15-08-18	118.80
13-08-20	132.00	14-08-26	132.10	15-08-25	114.10
13-08-27	133.00	14-09-02	132.80	15-09-01	110.60
13-09-03	133.90	14-09-09	133.00	15-09-08	108.90
13-09-10	132.10	14-09-16	129.90	15-09-15	107.10
13-09-17	130.60	14-09-23	129.40	15-09-22	106.10
13-09-24	126.40	14-09-30	130.10	15-09-29	106.80
13-10-01	124.30	14-10-07	128.00	15-10-06	105.70
13-10-08	123.60	14-10-14	123.10	15-10-13	106.70
13-10-15	124.80	14-10-21	121.90	15-10-20	104.60
13-10-22	125.50	14-10-28	118.80	15-10-27	104.10
13-10-29	124.40	14-11-04	117.80	15-11-03	107.20
13-11-05	123.70	14-11-11	119.20	15-11-10	109.40
13-11-12	122.60	14-11-18	116.20	15-11-17	104.80
13-11-19	124.60	14-11-25	114.40	15-11-24	103.60
13-11-26	126.40	14-12-02	112.30	15-12-01	104.70
13-12-03	125.40	14-12-09	107.20	15-12-08	100.70
13-12-10	125.90	14-12-16	101.10	15-12-15	101.30
13-12-17	124.50	14-12-23	99.40	15-12-22	102.70
13-12-24	125.00	14-12-30	98.10	15-12-29	102.10
13-12-31	128.30

Table 1 : Changement des prix des combustibles

¢/L	Annual (National Average) 2015	Annual (National Average) 2014	Annual (National Average) Change
Gasoline	108.9	128.1	-19.2
Diesel	109.2	133.9	-24.7
Furnace Oil	105.1	125.1	-20.0
Natural Gas Prices in $CA/GJ
Alberta (NGX)	2.56	4.18	-1.62
Ontario (Dawn)	3.57	6.42	-2.85

Source: NRCan, Bloomberg

Table 2: Natural Gas Prices for Vehicles

2015 average	¢/kilogram	¢/L gasoline equivalent	¢/L diesel equivalent
Vancouver	119.4	78.8	81.7
Edmonton	115.0	75.9	78.7
Toronto	128.4	84.7	87.8

Source: ¢/kg Kent Marketing Services Limited

Retail Gasoline Overview

The Canadian average gasoline retail pump price was $1.09 in 2015. This represents a decrease of 19 cents per litre compared to 2014. The following breakdown shows how various components of the retail price changed in 2015:

• The crude oil component averaged almost 39 cents per litre in 2015, a decrease of 24 cents when compared with the average of 63 cents per litre in 2014.

• Refining and marketing costs and margins overall were 32 cents per litre, an increase of 6 cents per litre over the 25 cents per litre in 2014.

• Taxes decrease slightly as a component of retail prices and averaged 38.4 cents.

The decline in the retail price is reflected in lower sales taxes (GST, HST and the QST) because they are based on a percentage of the price.  This effect was counterbalanced by fuel tax increases in both Alberta and New Brunswick.

The decline in retail prices was not the same across Canada. For example, average retail prices decreased the most in Halifax, where they were down 25 cents per litre from 2014.

The average retail price decreased the least in Calgary, partly as a result of an increase in fuel taxes introduced on March 27, 2015. In Vancouver average retail prices decreased less than in other centres, as a result of refining and marketing margins which were 9 cents higher than the previous year.

Figure 3: Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities Annual Average for 2015

Text version

Figure 3

This graph shows the gasoline price components for 2 territories and 10 cities plus the national average.

Note that effective this report, transportation costs are included in the crude oil estimate for Vancouver (2 cents per litre), Toronto, (4 cents per litre), and Atlantic Canada and Quebec (3 cents per litre)

	Whitehorse	Yellowknife	Vancouver	Calgary	Regina	Winnipeg	Toronto	Montreal*	Saint John*	Halifax*	Charlottetown*	St. John's*	Canada
Pump Price	111.4	119.5	124.3	99.1	100.5	97.1	106.8	115.7	104.2	105.9	105.8	109.6	108.9
Crude (est.)	36.0	36.0	38.0	36.0	36.0	36.0	40.0	45.9	45.9	45.9	45.9	45.9	38.8
Federal Taxes	15.3	15.7	15.9	14.7	14.8	14.6	10.0	15.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	15.5
Provincial Tax	6.2	10.7	32.2	12.1	15.0	14.0	14.7	32.2	14.9	15.5	13.1	16.5	22.9
HST							12.3		12.0	13.8	13.0	12.6
Refining & Marketing Costs & Margins	53.9	57.1	38.2	36.3	34.7	32.5	29.8	22.6	21.4	20.7	23.8	24.6	31.7

Source: NRCan
* Regulated Markets

Regular Gasoline Pump Price Components in Selected Cities
Change in Annual Average for 2015 over 2014 (cents per litre)

Cities	WH	YK	VA	CY	RE	WG	TO	ML	SJ	HX	CH	SJ’s	CA
Provincial Taxes	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	-1.4	1.3	0.0	-0.7	0.0	-0.6
HST							-2.4		-2.6	-3.3	-0.5	-2.3
Fed. Taxes (Includes GST)	-1.1	-1.0	-0.6	-0.7	-0.9	-1.1	0.0	-1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-0.3
R & M Costs and Margins	0.0	2.6	7.9	6.4	3.8	0.3	-0.3	5.1	2.9	2.6	2.2	6.5	6.4
Crude Oil	-22.3	-22.3	-20.3	-22.3	-22.3	-22.3	-18.3	-24.4	-24.4	-24.4	-24.4	-24.4	-24.3
Retail Price	-23.3	-20.7	-12.9	-13.4	-19.3	-23.0	-20.9	-22.0	-22.7	-25.1	-23.4	-20.2	-19.0

Note: An estimate of crude oil transportation costs is included in the crude oil estimate for Vancouver (2 cents per litre), Toronto, (4 cents per litre), and Atlantic Canada and Quebec (3 cents per litre)

Wholesale Gasoline Prices

In 2015, wholesale gasoline prices in Canada and the U.S. followed similar trends. These are plotted below in Canadian cents per litre. The annual average wholesale price in Canada was 61.2 cents per litre, 2.7 cents per litre higher than the 58.5 cents per litre average for the American cities.

Overall, Canadian and American wholesale gasoline prices followed each other closely. Looking at the average of the Canadian cities below, prices ranged between 47 and 75 Canadian cents per litre. In the American cities below, average prices ranged between 43 and 73 Canadian cents per litre.

In Western Cities, wholesale prices in 2015 averaged between 59 and 66 cents, and were between 15 and 19 cents less than they averaged in 2014. The largest decrease was in Edmonton, where prices were 19 cents lower than in 2014.

In Eastern cities, wholesale prices in 2015 averaged between 58 and 61 cents, which was between 18 and 23 cents less than they averaged in 2014. The largest decrease was in Halifax and in Braintree (Boston), where prices declined by almost 23 cents.

Figure 4: Wholesale Gasoline Prices
Rack Terminal Prices for Selected Canadian and American Cities – 2014 and 2015
(Can ¢/L)

Text version

Figure 4

These graphs show the trend in wholesale gasoline prices for selected centres in Canada and the U.S. for 2014 and 2015.

Date	Halifax	Braintree	Montreal	Rochester	Toronto	Buffalo	Edmonton	Grand Forks	Vancouver	Seattle
Thu 02-Jan-14	83.00	81.60	83.90	81.26	82.40	81.49	72.90	77.05	77.80	72.33
Thu 09-Jan-14	81.80	79.89	81.30	81.25	80.00	81.12	72.60	77.50	75.40	69.37
Thu 16-Jan-14	79.90	78.10	80.80	80.69	79.20	80.27	73.60	78.54	74.50	69.50
Thu 23-Jan-14	83.30	81.27	82.50	80.86	81.50	84.27	75.20	81.56	77.80	72.04
Thu 30-Jan-14	83.60	81.57	82.50	81.27	81.60	83.07	75.90	82.75	77.20	72.24
Thu 06-Feb-14	83.00	81.77	81.00	79.85	80.60	82.00	75.00	82.38	76.40	73.02
Thu 13-Feb-14	85.40	84.58	83.50	82.68	83.50	83.54	77.70	86.24	79.80	74.26
Thu 20-Feb-14	87.30	87.33	84.90	85.83	85.20	88.00	79.60	89.82	80.40	76.56
Thu 27-Feb-14	87.60	87.64	84.60	86.29	85.70	87.43	83.00	89.92	82.60	80.13
Thu 06-Mar-14	85.10	84.56	83.30	84.37	84.20	85.84	84.10	91.11	84.80	81.55
Thu 13-Mar-14	85.90	84.97	83.80	85.80	83.50	86.75	85.30	91.48	85.40	82.23
Thu 20-Mar-14	84.20	86.34	82.40	86.82	82.10	87.62	85.00	91.13	85.70	84.11
Thu 27-Mar-14	83.40	84.62	84.00	84.72	82.80	87.34	85.90	90.80	86.80	85.82
Thu 03-Apr-14	81.90	82.99	83.10	83.94	82.50	87.19	85.30	90.11	85.90	83.37
Thu 10-Apr-14	86.70	82.53	86.50	85.36	86.00	95.70	88.00	91.01	89.40	86.71
Thu 17-Apr-14	90.60	88.47	87.90	88.00	88.70	97.62	88.80	90.24	91.20	88.76
Thu 24-Apr-14	91.30	91.03	90.10	89.26	91.40	99.92	90.50	92.66	94.50	88.79
Thu 01-May-14	87.60	88.06	87.00	86.18	88.80	87.36	88.70	88.15	91.30	83.13
Thu 08-May-14	86.90	87.20	84.80	83.61	86.60	89.49	86.60	87.11	91.00	84.56
Thu 15-May-14	86.50	84.35	85.10	84.57	87.20	86.86	86.90	88.18	92.50	85.56
Thu 22-May-14	88.30	85.62	86.70	85.75	89.30	88.24	88.30	90.07	93.20	88.76
Thu 29-May-14	87.30	85.51	86.80	85.31	89.40	87.46	88.60	90.44	93.60	87.32
Thu 05-Jun-14	84.80	84.40	86.10	82.54	89.80	86.83	90.60	89.57	93.60	88.04
Thu 12-Jun-14	86.10	87.14	86.30	84.73	91.30	88.58	89.80	90.68	95.40	89.01
Thu 19-Jun-14	88.80	87.87	89.70	86.27	93.50	88.82	90.50	91.88	97.40	90.68
Thu 26-Jun-14	87.20	85.34	88.00	82.13	92.30	86.41	87.70	89.10	95.80	89.24
Thu 03-Jul-14	85.20	83.69	86.20	81.51	91.00	83.83	86.10	87.49	92.60	84.50
Thu 10-Jul-14	83.30	85.59	84.00	81.81	88.30	81.79	82.70	85.06	87.10	77.57
Thu 17-Jul-14	83.00	80.56	83.20	80.28	87.00	80.73	81.10	83.27	85.90	80.33
Thu 24-Jul-14	82.80	79.09	82.80	79.34	86.20	79.74	80.00	81.68	85.80	81.44
Thu 31-Jul-14	83.80	87.46	83.40	80.18	86.40	80.24	82.20	83.30	87.80	84.44
Thu 07-Aug-14	81.40	79.26	81.80	80.46	84.90	79.89	81.90	88.04	87.30	86.85
Thu 04-Sep-14	83.10	80.84	83.70	79.15	84.90	82.42	84.60	83.78	87.50	82.30
Thu 11-Sep-14	81.50	76.41	81.80	76.36	81.60	81.51	83.70	81.38	84.00	76.59
Thu 18-Sep-14	80.60	77.81	80.50	74.98	80.70	79.17	81.60	80.84	82.80	71.42
Thu 25-Sep-14	83.60	78.95	83.50	80.27	83.20	82.88	82.40	84.63	81.10	74.90
Thu 02-Oct-14	81.10	79.27	80.70	78.81	80.80	77.62	80.70	77.68	79.00	70.20
Thu 09-Oct-14	76.90	79.26	76.00	68.83	75.10	72.60	76.90	75.00	73.00	62.09
Thu 16-Oct-14	72.80	80.09	71.40	71.13	70.90	73.39	71.60	77.11	68.80	60.12
Thu 23-Oct-14	73.00	79.88	71.20	68.07	71.40	73.20	71.00	84.35	68.90	61.00
Thu 30-Oct-14	72.80	67.77	72.30	68.97	73.10	71.65	70.00	74.62	71.90	62.09
Thu 06-Nov-14	68.60	67.60	68.40	68.48	69.50	72.40	70.10	69.67	71.40	67.60
Thu 13-Nov-14	69.50	65.75	69.90	65.51	70.50	69.41	69.90	62.53	74.60	68.81
Thu 20-Nov-14	68.20	65.89	68.10	64.70	68.40	70.32	65.70	62.55	70.30	64.40
Thu 27-Nov-14	67.50	65.06	67.70	65.72	68.10	70.63	63.70	62.26	65.70	59.13
Thu 04-Dec-14	61.90	58.14	62.40	58.98	62.70	62.97	59.20	56.59	60.20	51.92
Thu 11-Dec-14	55.60	52.87	57.20	53.75	57.10	58.20	55.70	53.10	54.70	44.73
Thu 18-Dec-14	53.90	50.11	55.60	52.37	55.80	56.36	52.20	48.09	54.70	42.88
Thu 01-Jan-15	50.20	45.88	51.30	47.82	51.70	52.04	47.20	42.25	51.20	41.16
Thu 08-Jan-15	46.90	43.19	50.60	44.81	47.30	48.09	45.00	42.87	48.50	40.72
Thu 15-Jan-15	46.60	42.30	50.30	43.50	47.20	46.68	44.20	43.28	47.00	37.04
Thu 22-Jan-15	47.20	45.26	50.50	45.67	47.20	49.64	43.90	45.92	47.00	39.15
Thu 29-Jan-15	48.20	47.00	51.00	48.37	48.00	50.44	48.40	48.80	48.80	42.85
Thu 05-Feb-15	52.90	50.65	54.60	51.75	52.20	54.13	52.10	53.44	54.60	50.12
Thu 12-Feb-15	56.20	53.56	57.40	54.19	55.40	57.51	56.70	56.48	59.40	53.76
Thu 19-Feb-15	55.60	55.91	57.70	54.23	55.40	58.78	54.70	60.87	60.40	57.33
Thu 26-Feb-15	60.80	57.71	62.30	58.17	60.20	62.69	58.60	65.23	70.30	68.96
Thu 05-Mar-15	61.20	56.75	63.80	57.62	61.20	62.49	56.30	65.32	71.60	63.08
Thu 12-Mar-15	59.30	55.45	62.70	56.74	59.80	62.36	58.20	63.71	66.40	59.34
Thu 19-Mar-15	57.90	54.71	61.40	55.89	58.30	60.60	63.00	63.29	65.20	59.76
Thu 26-Mar-15	58.10	58.24	62.00	57.84	58.90	60.60	60.10	64.71	66.30	63.29
Thu 02-Apr-15	59.60	58.97	63.70	57.44	60.80	58.31	57.10	59.91	66.20	59.80
Thu 09-Apr-15	59.60	54.12	60.70	58.63	57.80	60.01	55.90	58.28	63.30	59.94
Thu 16-Apr-15	62.10	63.74	65.30	63.38	63.10	63.81	59.20	63.94	68.60	64.41
Thu 23-Apr-15	60.70	64.33	64.20	62.59	62.20	64.43	57.80	63.33	68.60	66.20
Thu 30 Apr-15	61.70	65.85	64.70	63.49	63.50	65.56	57.40	65.51	72.60	70.92
Thu 7 May-15	63.50	63.07	66.60	61.79	65.20	63.39	60.20	63.71	73.80	67.87
Thu 14 May-15	63.30	65.00	66.20	64.04	65.20	65.64	60.70	66.92	72.90	70.76
Thu 21-May-15	66.80	64.92	69.10	64.28	68.40	64.92	65.00	67.13	75.70	72.83
Thu 28-May-15	65.70	63.55	68.50	63.23	67.90	64.52	62.90	69.68	74.60	70.32
Thu 04-Jun-15	69.00	66.58	71.90	64.27	71.40	66.25	68.20	72.51	71.20	70.54
Thu 11-Jun-15	71.00	69.89	73.30	69.08	73.70	71.22	72.40	78.00	79.90	78.13
Thu 18-Jun-15	70.30	68.14	72.70	67.49	73.80	69.44	71.70	74.98	81.20	78.24
Thu 25-Jun-15	68.90	65.15	71.20	64.18	72.90	66.12	69.00	71.60	78.60	75.15
Thu 02-Jul-15	70.50	65.89	72.40	65.23	74.20	66.54	68.90	73.39	76.80	73.39
Thu 9-Jul-15	72.30	69.94	73.70	68.60	74.60	68.26	68.70	78.01	76.60	79.02
Thu 16-Jul-15	65.40	65.29	68.50	64.60	71.10	65.97	67.40	86.48	77.10	76.57
Thu 23-Jul-15	65.80	64.02	69.30	62.65	71.50	65.40	69.90	81.58	77.60	74.35
Thu 30-Jul-15	63.80	63.32	67.20	62.28	69.20	63.66	68.50	77.08	75.60	72.95
Thu 06-Aug-15	61.80	58.98	65.60	59.33	67.40	61.06	68.60	75.98	73.50	65.57
Thu 13-Aug-15	64.90	61.15	68.10	61.84	69.10	62.88	81.80	87.41	74.20	69.79
Thu 20-Aug-15	58.20	54.94	61.90	55.63	62.50	58.05	71.10	72.56	70.60	63.58
Thu 27-Aug-15	51.80	52.64	55.30	54.73	55.50	54.73	56.70	64.15	62.30	58.92
Thu 03-Sep-15	58.60	55.09	62.50	60.67	62.30	60.67	62.20	64.51	64.80	55.44
Thu 10-Sep-15	55.40	52.73	58.70	55.18	58.00	57.62	59.80	62.51	59.50	48.89
Thu 17-Sep-15	53.30	51.21	56.70	52.25	56.10	56.43	64.20	64.44	58.00	50.51
Thu 24-Sep-15	54.10	51.85	57.10	52.20	56.70	55.02	66.20	67.01	60.50	49.73
Thu 01-Oct-15	54.70	51.42	57.80	53.17	57.50	55.27	71.80	71.36	58.20	45.83
Thu 08-Oct-15	54.00	50.55	58.00	52.62	57.10	55.71	69.90	73.59	58.80	49.18
Thu 15-Oct-15	52.00	50.11	55.50	48.75	54.60	51.47	60.70	64.09	59.80	49.09
Thu 22-Oct-15	50.60	50.83	55.20	50.13	54.50	52.55	62.00	59.81	59.30	47.02
Thu 29-Oct-15	52.50	51.14	56.90	51.84	56.60	52.88	63.80	59.84	63.00	52.54
Thu 05-Nov-15	55.20	51.13	59.50	52.87	59.70	53.57	66.50	58.09	71.90	56.70
Thu 05-Nov-15	55.20	51.13	59.50	52.87	59.70	53.57	66.50	58.09	71.90	56.70
Thu 12-Nov-15	53.20	49.57	57.60		58.40	51.32	58.20	49.92	68.10	49.57
Thu 26-Nov-15	54.60	51.65	59.40	53.41	59.70	55.86	51.80	51.30	69.40	49.54
Thu 03-Dec-15	50.60	52.01	55.20	52.72	55.80	52.72	48.30	49.18	65.70	49.89
Thu 10-Dec-15	49.00	52.81	53.80	50.65	53.40	51.73	50.60	51.01	63.70	51.01
Thu 17-Dec-15	50.30	54.25	55.10	50.93	54.80	51.30	50.60	50.93	67.10	57.94
Thu 24-Dec-15	50.30	50.11	55.40	50.11	55.20	50.47	52.50	49.01	67.80	58.89
Thu 31-Dec-15	50.20	48.63	55.30	48.63	55.20	50.09	52.30	50.09	65.00	51.19

Average Canadian and American Rack Prices in Selected Centres
(Cents per litre)

	Canadian	American
2014	80.4	79.0
2015	61.2	58.5
Change	-19.3	-20.5

Note: This is the average of the five centres shown for each country.

Sources: NRCan, Bloomberg Oil Buyers Guide

Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins

Average annual national refining margins for gasoline ranged from a weekly low of 13 cents per litre to a high of 37 cents per litre in 2015. In comparison, margins fluctuated in the range of 11 to 22 cents per litre in 2014. Overall, the average national refining margin in 2015 was 23 cents per litre, 6 cents per litre above the 2014 average of 17 cents.

Refinery margins refer to the difference between the price of crude oil and the wholesale price at which the refiner can sell gasoline. The margin includes the cost associated with refining the product as well as a profit for the refiner. These margins fluctuated throughout the year and were above 30 cents per litre towards the end of the summer.

Marketing margins represent the difference between the wholesale and retail prices of gasoline. This margin pays for the costs associated with operating a service station and profit for the operator.

These margins fluctuated within a more narrow range and were more stable than refining margins. Nationally, the average margin increased from last year by 0.6 cent per litre to 9 cents per litre.

Among the five cities tracked below, Calgary ended the year with the highest annual average marketing margins at nearly 10 cents per litre, slightly higher than in 2014. Montreal ended the year with the lowest average marketing margins at 6.9 cents per litre, down slightly from 7.6 cents per litre in 2014.

Figure 5: Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins
Weekly Margins for 2015
^_________ Refining Margin _______ Marketing Margin

Text version

Figure 5

These graphs show the trend in refining and marketing costs and margins for selected centres in Canada and the national average for 2014 and 2015.

Weekly average	Marketing Margin	Refining Margin	Marketing Margin	Refining Margin	Marketing Margin	Refining Margin	Marketing Margin	Refining Margin	Marketing Margin	Refining Margin	Marketing Margin	Refining Margin
2014-01-07	7.7	16.4	5.2	20.8	7.6	18.6	7.4	25.3	4.7	8.1	6.3	7.4
2014-01-14	7.3	16.7	5.5	21.2	6.8	19.7	7.6	25.6	4.1	8.7	5.8	8.1
2014-01-21	7.9	16.3	5.2	20.1	7.0	19.4	7.6	24.3	6.4	8.1	6.6	7.7
2014-01-28	7.9	15.6	6.6	20.1	6.7	20.1	8.7	24.1	7.8	6.9	7.4	6.7
2014-02-04	7.6	16.1	5.5	20.0	6.7	21.3	8.0	24.2	8.2	6.5	8.1	6.7
2014-02-11	7.3	16.4	5.0	16.9	6.1	18.0	8.0	20.7	7.8	6.5	7.6	7.3
2014-02-18	7.0	15.0	4.6	16.4	6.7	17.7	7.9	20.3	6.6	7.2	7.6	8.7
2014-02-25	6.5	14.3	4.3	12.5	6.5	14.3	7.8	16.8	5.1	8.2	7.4	10.2
2014-03-04	6.3	14.1	4.0	11.8	6.7	13.3	7.2	15.0	5.0	9.1	7.4	11.6
2014-03-11	6.7	12.6	4.7	14.0	7.3	16.0	7.1	16.0	5.3	9.1	8.8	11.2
2014-03-18	7.1	13.3	5.9	15.3	6.5	17.9	7.6	15.7	6.3	8.5	9.6	10.4
2014-03-25	7.7	14.3	6.8	19.7	7.4	22.1	7.8	18.0	6.6	8.4	9.6	9.7
2014-04-01	8.1	15.1	8.3	21.5	7.3	24.1	8.4	18.9	7.0	8.4	9.4	8.7
2014-04-08	8.1	16.6	8.3	22.4	8.1	24.5	8.5	19.0	6.8	9.5	8.4	9.3
2014-04-15	7.8	18.2	8.5	23.7	9.0	24.9	8.4	20.3	5.8	11.1	7.1	11.0
2014-04-22	7.8	18.9	8.6	24.4	8.5	25.2	8.6	21.3	5.7	11.5	7.2	12.1
2014-04-29	8.0	20.0	8.7	26.0	9.3	26.1	8.7	23.0	5.9	12.2	8.2	13.2
2014-05-06	8.4	20.3	9.0	26.7	9.6	26.3	8.8	23.7	6.4	12.3	9.4	14.0
2014-05-13	8.7	19.8	8.4	27.4	9.9	26.0	8.5	23.5	7.4	11.5	10.0	13.3
2014-05-20	8.6	19.6	8.1	27.2	9.7	25.2	8.2	22.9	8.0	11.0	9.6	12.3
2014-05-27	8.0	19.4	7.7	27.2	7.9	24.8	7.8	22.5	8.0	10.8	8.4	12.1
2014-06-03	7.7	18.8	7.4	26.4	7.4	23.9	7.7	21.4	8.1	10.6	8.1	11.3
2014-06-10	7.4	19.4	7.3	26.4	6.9	24.3	7.6	22.0	7.7	11.2	7.8	11.3
2014-06-17	7.3	19.8	7.1	26.9	6.8	24.7	7.3	23.0	7.6	10.8	7.7	10.7
2014-06-24	7.8	19.9	7.3	28.5	8.6	25.7	7.7	24.8	7.6	11.0	8.0	10.5
2014-07-01	7.8	20.7	6.9	29.1	9.3	25.1	7.3	25.8	6.9	11.3	7.8	10.7
2014-07-08	8.2	20.0	7.7	28.0	10.0	24.0	7.7	25.6	7.1	10.8	8.2	10.3
2014-07-15	8.6	19.4	7.6	27.9	11.4	23.8	7.8	26.4	6.9	12.2	8.9	11.6
2014-07-22	8.4	19.0	7.3	26.2	11.2	22.4	7.1	25.6	7.2	11.6	8.7	11.3
2014-07-29	8.3	18.4	7.9	25.1	9.9	22.0	7.4	25.2	7.1	11.1	8.3	11.0
2014-08-05	7.9	18.2	7.6	24.6	8.9	21.6	7.2	24.4	7.2	10.4	8.1	10.4
2014-08-12	8.0	18.4	8.1	25.1	9.7	21.8	7.3	24.4	7.8	10.3	7.6	10.5
2014-08-19	8.6	17.8	8.3	25.2	10.5	22.3	7.3	24.2	7.0	10.1	7.8	10.4
2014-08-26	8.6	18.6	8.1	25.9	11.4	23.4	6.9	24.5	7.5	11.3	7.2	11.6
2014-09-02	8.4	19.5	7.9	26.6	11.8	24.5	6.8	24.7	7.4	12.2	7.0	12.5
2014-09-09	8.5	19.6	7.6	26.4	10.1	25.2	7.1	24.1	7.6	13.4	7.5	13.3
2014-09-16	8.0	20.1	8.2	25.4	8.5	25.4	7.6	22.9	7.7	13.4	7.8	13.3
2014-09-23	8.2	19.3	8.3	24.1	7.8	24.8	8.0	21.8	7.8	13.8	8.1	13.7
2014-09-30	8.1	19.2	8.6	22.2	7.5	24.4	7.9	21.6	7.3	14.3	8.0	14.2
2014-10-07	8.4	18.1	9.2	20.2	9.2	23.7	7.6	20.8	7.2	14.5	8.9	14.9
2014-10-14	8.8	17.0	8.6	17.9	11.0	22.1	7.7	19.2	8.0	13.2	9.6	13.9
2014-10-21	9.2	15.7	9.2	17.7	12.4	23.0	7.7	20.4	8.8	14.5	9.3	15.4
2014-10-28	9.6	13.4	8.5	16.5	13.8	21.1	8.0	18.8	9.2	12.5	9.6	13.5
2014-11-04	9.3	15.2	8.1	18.5	12.3	22.2	8.4	19.9	9.4	11.5	8.9	12.3
2014-11-11	9.2	16.2	8.3	19.7	10.5	21.9	8.7	20.2	9.9	10.6	7.5	11.1
2014-11-18	9.2	16.4	8.4	22.4	10.7	22.9	8.8	21.4	9.1	11.0	8.5	11.3
2014-11-25	9.2	16.8	9.4	22.7	10.9	22.7	8.7	21.4	9.4	10.8	8.3	11.0
2014-12-02	9.4	16.8	9.4	22.9	11.8	22.4	8.8	22.2	9.1	13.1	8.5	12.9
2014-12-09	9.7	15.7	9.9	19.4	13.2	19.6	8.8	20.1	8.9	11.5	9.4	11.1
2014-12-16	9.5	14.2	9.5	19.2	12.5	20.2	8.5	20.9	9.1	12.5	9.3	11.7
2014-12-23	9.4	13.8	9.5	18.3	11.8	19.4	8.8	20.1	9.1	11.9	9.0	10.4
2014-12-30	9.6	12.9	9.8	17.5	11.8	18.4	8.9	19.0	9.7	10.3	9.0	8.9
2015-01-06	9.4	12.5	9.7	18.1	11.3	18.3	9.1	18.9	8.8	11.2	9.0	9.0
2015-01-13	9.6	13.0	10.1	17.6	10.7	17.1	9.4	17.8	8.9	11.6	9.0	8.9
2015-01-20	9.5	12.9	9.9	17.1	10.9	16.7	9.4	17.1	8.3	12.1	8.8	9.0
2015-01-27	8.7	13.9	9.4	17.2	8.9	17.4	9.3	17.0	7.0	12.7	7.9	9.2
2015-02-03	7.6	16.1	8.6	18.9	7.5	19.3	8.5	18.3	5.7	14.0	6.1	11.0
2015-02-10	7.5	17.2	8.6	19.3	7.6	19.6	8.6	18.0	5.5	11.8	5.4	9.4
2015-02-17	7.6	18.0	9.3	21.9	7.6	21.9	9.0	19.4	5.3	12.5	5.8	10.6
2015-02-24	7.8	18.5	10.1	23.7	8.6	22.5	9.3	20.0	5.0	12.0	6.2	10.4
2015-03-03	9.5	19.1	11.3	27.3	10.8	23.7	10.2	21.7	7.7	13.2	7.7	11.6
2015-03-10	9.5	20.2	10.5	30.6	11.0	24.4	10.1	23.6	7.3	14.5	8.9	12.6
2015-03-17	9.4	20.9	9.7	32.1	9.7	24.7	9.6	24.4	8.3	15.8	9.9	13.4
2015-03-24	9.5	22.6	8.2	34.7	9.2	27.1	8.6	26.2	9.2	16.8	10.3	13.9
2015-03-31	8.6	22.3	7.5	33.3	7.6	27.3	8.0	25.7	8.4	17.3	10.9	13.9
2015-04-07	8.6	22.4	7.9	31.2	7.2	26.5	7.9	24.4	9.1	17.2	10.6	13.4
2015-04-14	8.7	21.9	8.3	30.1	7.4	25.1	8.1	23.5	9.2	17.1	10.6	13.2
2015-04-21	8.6	20.7	9.2	27.3	7.5	21.7	8.5	21.4	8.7	16.4	10.6	12.6
2015-04-28	8.8	20.0	9.0	27.3	7.8	19.6	8.4	21.2	8.6	16.0	10.6	12.3
2015-05-05	9.2	19.6	9.6	28.2	6.8	18.9	8.8	21.2	8.3	15.7	10.5	12.4
2015-05-12	9.3	19.2	9.7	29.7	7.9	19.0	8.8	21.8	7.8	15.8	11.0	12.5
2015-05-19	9.2	19.3	10.0	29.6	7.0	18.5	9.1	21.2	7.9	16.0	11.1	12.9
2015-05-26	9.0	20.1	10.3	30.0	7.1	19.7	9.0	21.9	7.9	17.0	10.6	14.0
2015-06-02	9.8	20.0	10.6	29.1	9.4	19.5	9.7	21.3	8.9	17.1	11.3	14.1
2015-06-09	9.9	20.7	10.0	29.6	9.9	20.9	9.6	22.4	9.2	18.2	10.9	15.4
2015-06-16	10.2	22.6	10.1	30.6	12.0	23.0	9.6	23.8	8.9	20.1	10.2	17.4
2015-06-23	10.2	23.5	9.4	31.3	12.3	24.0	9.7	24.4	8.7	20.7	10.6	18.1
2015-06-30	9.2	25.0	8.4	33.6	10.6	26.9	8.7	27.4	7.9	22.5	9.6	20.2
2015-07-07	9.4	26.1	9.2	34.1	10.5	28.1	9.1	28.7	8.2	23.3	8.4	21.1
2015-07-14	9.6	27.6	9.2	37.0	9.8	30.8	9.4	32.4	9.1	23.7	8.4	21.6
2015-07-21	10.0	28.6	10.3	37.8	6.9	31.5	9.8	33.3	9.7	23.7	8.4	21.4
2015-07-28	9.6	30.0	10.2	42.8	8.2	36.5	9.7	37.6	9.1	26.6	8.8	23.9
2015-08-04	9.1	31.2	9.8	44.6	5.6	38.2	9.7	38.4	8.6	27.0	8.9	23.9
2015-08-11	8.5	31.2	8.7	44.8	6.2	39.6	8.8	38.0	7.5	26.7	9.3	23.3
2015-08-18	6.2	32.8	8.5	43.7	6.6	42.3	8.6	36.9	6.7	26.4	8.9	22.9
2015-08-25	6.9	33.0	9.1	41.4	10.2	41.6	9.1	34.6	6.4	25.1	8.9	21.6
2015-09-01	5.1	32.0	9.8	38.5	13.8	39.5	9.6	32.2	6.5	23.1	8.0	19.7
2015-09-08	5.2	30.0	10.4	36.0	12.8	37.4	10.0	30.6	6.2	22.6	7.4	19.0
2015-09-15	6.5	26.4	10.3	30.9	12.4	31.6	10.4	27.2	6.3	20.3	7.8	16.7
2015-09-22	6.1	24.0	10.0	26.0	11.2	28.7	10.1	23.6	7.0	18.6	7.5	15.0
2015-09-29	8.0	22.7	9.3	24.8	10.2	30.5	9.3	22.9	7.1	18.6	8.1	15.1
2015-10-06	8.2	22.1	8.7	23.1	11.9	30.7	9.2	21.1	7.3	16.6	8.3	13.4
2015-10-13	8.6	21.9	8.8	23.4	12.8	32.3	8.7	20.5	6.9	15.8	7.9	12.6
2015-10-20	8.8	20.9	9.1	23.4	14.1	30.9	8.5	19.8	6.5	15.9	7.7	12.6
2015-10-27	8.9	20.4	9.4	22.8	13.9	29.3	8.6	18.9	6.4	15.3	7.6	11.6
2015-11-03	9.0	20.6	10.8	24.9	12.3	29.8	9.0	19.6	6.9	16.1	7.2	12.1
2015-11-10	9.1	21.4	10.6	28.4	12.3	29.5	9.0	20.9	7.0	16.7	7.1	12.4
2015-11-17	8.9	22.4	9.5	31.3	11.9	29.4	8.7	22.7	6.9	18.1	7.5	13.7
2015-11-24	9.3	22.6	9.6	33.4	12.8	26.4	8.7	23.5	6.6	18.5	7.7	14.1
2015-12-01	9.1	22.9	9.0	36.1	12.6	25.0	8.6	25.8	5.5	19.9	7.8	15.4
2015-12-08	8.8	22.3	8.7	35.1	10.7	22.0	8.5	25.2	5.2	19.1	8.6	14.5
2015-12-15	8.6	22.9	9.7	35.4	8.7	22.0	9.1	25.5	4.8	17.7	7.6	14.9
2015-12-22	8.2	24.2	9.5	36.7	8.3	23.9	9.2	26.4	3.7	17.8	7.5	16.0
2015-12-29	8.3	24.6	9.5	38.3	8.5	25.8	9.2	27.0	4.0	22.3	7.7	17.4

Source: NRCan

Crude Oil Overview

Over the course of 2015, the Canadian dollar weakened against the U.S. dollar.  The Canadian dollar depreciated by 12% from an average of 82.5 U.S. cents in January, to an average of 73 U.S. cents per litre in December. The depreciating Canadian dollar meant that the decline in crude oil prices expressed in Canadian dollars is less than in U.S. dollars.

The Fuel Focus tracks four crude oil benchmarks, Canadian Light Sweet, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent and Western Canada Select (WCS).

On average for 2015, Canadian Light Sweet prices were down by 47% in USD per barrel terms and 39% in CAD per m³, averaging U.S. $45.05 / barrel (CAD $362.33 /m³) in 2015. WTI prices were down by similar amounts, 48% in USD per barrel terms and 39% in CAD per m³ terms, averaging U.S. $48.68 per barrel (CAD $254.07 / m³).  Brent prices were down by 46% in USD per barrel terms, and 38% in CAD per m³ terms, averaging U.S. $53.60 per barrel, and CAD $431.16 /m³. Finally, WCS was down 52% in USD per barrel terms, and 45% in CAD per m³, averaging $35.64 U.S. per barrel and CAD $230.37 / m³).

Global oil prices are 70% off their July 2014 peak, with the three light benchmarks ending the year in the U.S. $34 to $39 per barrel range (CAD $293/m³ to CAD $336/m³). WCS ended the year at nearly U.S. $24 ($206 CAD / m³) per barrel.

The price differentials between Canadian benchmarks and their international counterparts narrowed over the course of 2015, compared to 2014. In 2015, the discount for Canadian Light Sweet compared to Brent ranged between U.S. $5 and $14 per barrel (CAD 42.4 and 110.8 /m³) with an annual average of U.S. $8.50 per barrel (CAD $68.8 / m³).

When compared with WTI, the Canadian Light Sweet differential ranged between U.S. $0.94 and $7 per barrel (CAD $7.20 and $53 CAD/m³), with an average of U.S. $3.60 (CAD $10.90 / m³).  WCS ranged from U.S. $8.50 to $17 (CAD $65 to CAD $140 / m³) and averaged U.S. $13 per barrel (CAD $105 / m³).

The recent decline in oil prices is driven by supply and demand factors. On the supply side, oil markets are currently oversupplied for a number of reasons. For example, the initial decline in oil prices was related to increases in oil production in the US and in some countries which are members of the  Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC) (e.g., Libya and Iraq).

These supply-side dynamics combined with lower than expected oil demand growth in China and continued decreases in oil demand in other key regions to create a scenario in which supply growth began to outpace demand growth, causing prices to begin to decline abruptly in June 2014. Global oversupply conditions were exacerbated in November 2014 and December 2015 when OPEC members decided to maintain record production levels despite low oil prices.

These factors combined with the potential re-entry of Iranian production into global markets following the successful negotiation of the Iranian nuclear agreement in 2015 have put further downward pressure on oil prices.

Figure 6: Crude Oil Price Comparisons

Text version

Figure 6

This graph shows crude oil prices for Canadian Light Sweet, WTI, Brent and WCS. The average weekly prices for the period ending December 31, 2015, were $292.17/cubic metres, $321.73/cubic metres, $336.10/cubic metres and $206.42/cubic metres for the Canadian Light, WTI, Brent and WCS, respectively.

Dates	Canadian Light Sweet	WTI	Brent	WCS
01/13	549.97	592.14	699.83	387.55
02/13	553.76	605.29	736.06	370.93
03/13	560.66	598.93	705.36	430.10
04/13	571.20	590.06	663.78	441.27
05/13	598.81	608.31	662.59	519.16
06/13	577.25	630.51	680.52	489.10
07/13	664.03	685.36	703.73	592.16
08/13	665.21	697.44	722.47	595.65
09/13	647.06	691.84	723.16	543.60
10/13	592.41	655.54	713.92	483.77
11/13	511.65	620.13	711.21	413.23
12/13	524.69	655.42	740.65	394.48
01/14	561.87	651.27	735.43	452.06
02/14	665.35	699.89	756.56	566.93
03/14	655.67	701.90	752.47	554.81
04/14	647.62	704.92	747.57	550.77
05/14	652.85	697.62	748.13	566.87
06/14	665.50	715.93	762.22	589.57
07/14	629.45	690.70	730.08	558.81
08/14	606.25	660.32	710.46	507.84
09/14	608.92	644.03	681.65	515.00
10/14	551.84	594.78	621.20	497.90
11/14	474.20	540.12	569.75	447.90
12/14	378.11	430.68	459.36	313.77
01/15	304.92	359.85	377.71	232.32
02/15	350.67	399.16	461.37	287.18
03-15	339.32	379.25	452.57	269.44
04-15	394.52	422.81	471.56	313.37
05-15	444.34	455.08	502.89	387.66
06-15	453.67	444.84	472.46	377.74
07-15	373.96	411.43	457.53	353.39
08-15	303.26	351.68	395.72	210.71
09-15	356.80	389.09	406.85	267.30
10-15	363.10	380.00	404.44	258.44
11-15	319.23	339.52	383.58	224.73
12-15	292.17	321.73	336.10	206.42

Sources: NRCan

Changes in Crude Oil Prices

Crude Oil Types	2015		2014		Difference
	$Can/ m3	$US/ bbl	$Can/ m3	$US/ bbl	$Can/ m3	$US/ bbl
Canadian Light	362.33	45.05	594.53	85.56	-232.20	-40.51
WTI	391.54	48.68	645.62	92.91	-254.07	-44.23
Brent	431.16	53.60	691.38	99.50	-260.22	-45.89
WCS	286.71	35.64	517.08	74.41	-230.37	-38.77

Source: NRCan

Supplement: Taxes on Gasoline and Other Fuels

Federal and Provincial Consumption Taxes on Petroleum Products
(As of December 31, 2015)

	Gasoline	Diesel	Propane (motor vehicle)	Furnace Oil/ Natural Gas   (for heating)
Federal Taxes (Fixed in Cents/Litre or in % where indicated)
Excise Tax	10.0	4.0	-	-
Goods and Services Tax	5%	5%	5%	5%
OR: Harmonized Sales Taxes (1)  (in most provinces):
Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario,  and New Brunswick	13%	13%	13%	13%
Nova Scotia(2)	15%	15%	15%	5%
Prince Edward Island	14%	14%	14%	5%
Provincial Taxes (Fixed in Cents/Litre or in % where indicated)
Newfoundland and Labrador	16.5	16.5	7.0
Prince Edward Island	13.1	20.2
Nova Scotia	15.5	15.4	7.0
New Brunswick	15.5	21.5	6.7
Quebec(3)	19.2	20.2
Quebec Sales Tax (QST)	9.975%	9.975%	9.975%	9.975%
Ontario	14.7	14.3	4.3
Manitoba	14.0	14.0	3.0
Saskatchewan	15.0	15.0	9.0
Alberta	13.0	13.0	9.4
British Columbia plus Carbon Tax (4)	14.5	15.0
	6.67	7.67	4.62	7.67/5.70
Yukon	6.2	7.2
Northwest Territories (5)	10.7/6.4	9.1
Nunavut(5)	10.7/6.4	9.1
Transportation Taxes (Fixed in Cents/ Litre) (in addition to federal and provincial taxes)
Montréal(3)	3.0
Vancouver(4)	11.0	11.0
Victoria(4)	3.5	3.5

Notes:
1. Where the HST is in place, the federal portion of the tax is 5%. GST or HST applies to the retail price excluding the GST/HST.
2. Nova Scotia has a point of sale tax rebate of the provincial portion of the HST (8%) on furnace oil.
3. In Quebec, gasoline, diesel and propane taxes are reduced by varying amounts in certain remote areas and within 20 kilometres of the provincial and U.S. borders. The Quebec provincial sales tax (QST) applies to all petroleum products at a rate of 9.975%.  The QST is calculated on the retail price, which includes the Quebec per litre tax, federal excise tax and an urban tax of 3.0 cents per litre that is also added to gasoline sold in Montréal and surrounding municipalities.
4. British Columbia applies a carbon tax on all fuels. In the Greater Vancouver and Victoria areas, there are additional transportation taxes of 11.0 and 3.5 cents per litre, respectively, on gasoline and diesel. More information is available on the Government of British Columbia’s website at http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/motor-fuel-carbon-tax
5. In the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, gasoline is taxed at 6.4 cents per litre in communities not served by a highway system.

The order in which taxes are applied is as follows: a) consumption and excise taxes (municipal, provincial and federal) are added to the ex-tax price, then b) the GST/HST are calculated and added onto the sum from a).

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